An Elder Pilgrim's Reflections

Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;     let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;     let all the trees of the forest sing for joy. Psalm 96:11-12 Charlotte Rhodes Memorial Butterfly Park is one of the "must stop" places on our annual Acadia NP retreat. The quiet and the butterflies remind me that God constantly renews our souls.  Yes, it's a long nine-hour drive to Acadia via interstates and state highways to Southwest Harbor and the beginning of our spiritual renewal. Christian tradition views the butterfly as a symbol of resurrection. A butterfly represents an insect who "dies" as a caterpillar, is buried in the cocoon, and emerges in a new life.  Butterfly Park allows you to meander through the flowers, watch the butterflies, sit on one of the park's benches and absorb an inlet's beauty. From a bench, one may catch glimpses of butterflies flitting from one bloom to bloom. As Cleland Bo...

 “Which one of you,  having a hundred sheep  and losing one of them,  does not leave the ninety-nine  in the wilderness and go after  the one that is lost until he finds it?" (from Lk. 15:1-10 ) In the days of my youth, I was a counselor in a boy's camp located on the beautiful shores of Lake Seymour, Vermont. The campers bedding included flannel sheets and two woolen blankets due to the cool evening weather. It was a hot summer night and the campers were sleeping.  During bed-check, two campers seemed tucked under wool blankets. The other counselor and I pulled off the blankets to find no campers. We began anxiously searching wondering what trouble they managed to get themselves into. We found the them skinny dipping at the camp's overnight campsite totally unaware of the dangers of swimming in the dark.  The lost were found. Jesus, however, is telling this parable with a much deeper meaning. Jesus is talking about the depth of God’s love.  ...

This week Elaine and I are in Acadia National Park. It's here that for years we come to renew our spirits from the every-day life we lead. I hope these images and words from Psalm 8 will give you some renewal also. Psalm 8  O  Lord , our Sovereign,    how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens.      Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,      to silence the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,    the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them,    mortals  that you care for them? Yet you have made them a little lower than God,    and crowned them with glory and honor. You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;    you have put all things under their feet, all shee...

  “Whoever comes to me  and does not hate father and mother,  wife and children, brothers and sisters,  yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. (from Luke 14:24-33 ) I wonder why Jesus is making such a harsh statement when his ministry was about love of God and neighbor? Consider this: Imagine yourself at a Billy Graham Crusade. There is lots of singing, and a challenging message that concludes with an invitation to come forward and make a commitment to Jesus. You respond to the invitation, go forward, and are met with one to the team who then explains the next steps you have to take. It's a first century setting like this in which Jesus makes statements about the sacrifice of being a disciple. He's using the word "hate" as a hyperbole to stress the importance of discipleship. We sacrifice according to our priorities.  Jesus says the Kingdom of God he proclaims and the kingdom life of which he is an example should be a priority even with its difficult ...